South Florida Sun Sentinel | By Scott Travis | March 8, 2022
Vickie Cartwright will soon hire two new administrators that could each earn more than $200,000 a year as one of her first major decisions as Broward’s permanent school superintendent.
Cartwright, who was hired last month, asked the School Board Tuesday to approve two deputy superintendent positions, one for teaching and learning and one for operations. The School Board approved the request 7-1, with Lori Alhadeff dissenting and Patti Good being absent.
The cost of the positions, with salaries ranging from $160,000 to $236,000 each, is expected to be about $278,551 per year for each new deputy, a district analysis shows.
, Until Tuesday, the highest-paying position under the superintendent had a top salary of $209,000.
“These two positions provide focus for the two main areas of the District: Teaching and Learning, and District Operations,” said a statement from the office of Chief Communications Officer Kathy Koch.
The move comes at a time when the School Board could face steep cuts in state funding due to enrollment declines. The state House of Representatives has also passed a budget that strips $200 million from school districts that defied a state order and imposed mask mandates last semester. Broward’s potential cut would be $32 million.
The cut would be equal to every district-level administrator making $100,000 a year or more, said Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, who drafted the plan. However, districts aren’t required to eliminate the jobs if they can find money elsewhere in their budgets.
The Senate may decide today whether it supports the House proposal, said John Sullivan, the district’s legislative liaison. Gov. Ron DeSantis voiced support for the idea. Alhadeff proposed waiting to see if the district will receive this cut before approving the positions.
The two new deputy superintendents will add an extra layer of management to Broward schools, with many positions now reporting to the superintendent — including chief financial officer, chief academic officer and chief human resources officer — reporting to one of the new administrators.
But school district officials say the new positions won’t cost the district any more money. The prorated cost of the two jobs for the rest of the school year would be about $144,000. Cartwright’s proposal eliminates one job — chief of operations and strategy — and uses savings from other administrative vacancies to pay for the positions for the rest of the year.
“I believe it is a good idea,” School Board member Debbi Hixon told the Sun Sentinel Monday. “It is cost neutral for this year.”
The district will likely need to cut more high-level positions to pay for these positions starting with the 2022-23 school year. A statement from Koch’s office said the proposal is “the beginning of the reorganization of district divisions for next school year. The intended result is to be cost neutral now and moving forward.”
Board Chairwoman Laurie Rich Levinson said during Tuesday’s meeting she expects to see a plan in the future that saves money, not just avoids cost increases. But she said most large districts have deputy superintendents.
“It’s essential we support Dr. Cartwright in the way she wants to organize,” Levinson said.
